Mogadishu , Somalia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Blood and body parts littered the ground outside Turkey 's embassy in Somalia on Saturday afternoon , the grisly result of a blast that police said left six dead and nine wounded .

A minivan packed with explosives went off around 5 p.m. in the heart of Mogadishu , just a few meters from the Turkish diplomatic post , said police Col. Ahmed Mohamud .

When it was over , two Somali security guards , a university student and three attackers were dead , according to Mohamud .

Turkish embassy sources said that two of its staff members were among the wounded .

Somali police and Turkish embassy guards , meanwhile , converged on the scene . Mangled buses and cars ended up in a disfigured heap , while the windows of numerous nearby apartments were shattered .

Al-Shabaab -- a militant Islamist group with connections to al Qaeda -- claimed responsibility for the attack .

`` We are behind the martyrdom explosion , '' the group claimed via Twitter . `` The Turkish were our main target . ''

The U.S. government reacted Saturday to `` the terrorist attack '' by pledging its solidarity with Turkey , `` the people of Somalia ... and all members of the international community who are working for peace and stability in Somalia . ''

`` This cowardly act will not shake our commitment to continue working for the brighter , more democratic and prosperous future the people of Somalia deserve , '' State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement .

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud similarly blasted what he called `` an act of cowardly desperation by terrorists '' against one of his nation 's `` most determined and dependable allies . '' He lauded Turks ' `` tireless efforts '' over the past two years to help build new schools and hospitals , among other contributions .

`` I condemn this criminal act of terrorism and my government and security forces will do everything it can to catch those who planned and directed it , '' Hassan said .

`` We must continue to stand firm against those who seek to destroy this country and , with the brave support of our allies , we must double our efforts to deliver the peaceful future the Somali people so desperately want . ''

Saturday 's bombing was the second major attack in Mogadishu in a few days : On Wednesday , at least one person died in the capital after a bomb hidden in a lawmaker 's car blew up .

The targeted member of Parliament , Sheikh Adan Mader , and other lawmakers were out of the car when the blast occurred and were unharmed , police said .

Designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government in 2008 , al-Shabaab has waged a war with Somali 's government in an effort to implement a stricter form of Islamic law in the country .

Its forces were pushed out of Mogadishu in summer 2011 by Somali and other African forces , raising hopes of a return to relative security in a city after about 20 years of violence .

But the militants have persisted by maintaining control of large rural areas of southern and central Somalia and staging guerrilla-style attacks . In one such attack that al-Shabaab took credit for , in June , at least 14 people died and 15 were wounded in an attack on U.N. headquarters in Mogadishu .

In addition to its volatile security situation , Somalia has been plagued by famine .

A May report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network , found that 258,000 Somalis had died in the famine between October 2010 and April 2012 . Half of the famine victims were children younger than 5 .

Journalist Omar Nor reported from Somalia , and CNN 's Greg Botelho wrote this story from Atlanta .

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NEW : Somali president decries what he calls an `` act of cowardly desperation ''

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A minivan full of explosives blows up outside Turkish embassy in Mogadishu

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Two security guards , a student and three attackers die , Somali police say

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Islamist militant group al-Shabaab claims responsibility